The Alaska Legislature met in joint session on Tuesday to vote on resolutions denying Gov. Mike Dunleavy several executive orders that would have dismantled some bureaucratic layers of government.
Dunleavy made 12 executive orders, listed here, in January. They went to the Legislature, where many of them were met with skepticism from special-interest groups. Midwives didn’t want to dismantle the board certifying midwives, and barbers and hairdressers wanted their board kept in place. Massage therapists also wanted their own board.
Of the 12 advisory boards on the chopping block, the Legislature only agreed to dismantle only four: The Recreation Rivers Advisory Board, the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board, the Criminal Justice Advisory Board, and the Safety Advisory Board were disbanded.
The other eight were preserved by the Legislature, including an order to split board of the Alaska Energy Authority away from the board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, so it would have its own dedicated energy board. Right now the two agencies share a single board.
“The purpose of the executive orders was to check the growth of government and improve efficiency. Therefore, the Dunleavy administration will continue to forward executive orders that streamline government and make it more efficient,” the Governor’s Office said in a statement.
